Abbott approves state budget, funding for Texas Tech vet school in Amarillo

Gov. Greg Abbott approved the state budget Monday, including more than $4 million for a Texas Tech veterinarian school in Amarillo. (Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune)

Rep. John Smithee

Mayor Ginger Nelson

Gov. Greg Abbott has signed into law a 2018-2019 state budget worth around $217 billion, vetoing about $120 million in planned expenditures but keeping $4.2 million in funding for a Texas Tech School of Veterinary Medicine in Amarillo.

State Rep. John Smithee, R-Amarillo, confirmed Monday that the funding was not among the $120 million of line item vetoes whittled by Abbott from the budget.

Both chambers signed off on the funding on May 27.

“For everyone in the Panhandle, this is a big victory,” Smithee said. “The establishment of a vet college here has been a dream goal for some for at least 30 years, most thought it was unreachable within our lifetimes, but now it looks like it will be a reality.”

The amount of funding is down about $1.5 million from the House’s initial proposal and well short of the $16.75 million that the Texas Tech University System initially requested from lawmakers to build the school.

Smithee said previously that the more than $4 million was a commitment from the state of Texas that a veterinary college would be established in Amarillo.

“It’s important to the Panhandle because this is the livestock center of the United States, and arguably the world, and this solidifies that,” Smithee said Monday. “This opens up a lot of opportunities, it can be a real economic engine, and in this case that’s true because of the relationship it will have with the Texas Tech pharmacy school. it will bring it a lot of research money and jobs to the region.”

Tech System officials have estimated the total cost of the school at $80 to $90 million. Previously, the university system was aiming to open by the fall of 2019 and has been praised by many as a future economic boon for Amarillo.

“We are grateful for legislative support for both a dental school and veterinary medicine in our state and recognizing the Texas Tech University System’s ability to meet these vital needs,” Tech System Vice Chancellor Brett Ashworth said in an email Monday.

The Amarillo City Council, before being replaced entirely with five new members in May, sought to incentivize the construction of the school.

The council last year agreed to give a $15 million sales-tax rebate to the university system if it starts construction by Sept 1, 2018, and opens the school for classes no later than four years afterward.

The deal is also contingent on the vet school paying employees $50 million in payroll and benefits over a five-year span starting Sept. 1, 2022.

In May, Barry Albrecht, president and CEO of Amarillo Economic Development Corp., said the construction and opening deadlines in the agreement could be changed with a vote if needed. He said he was committed to keeping the project.

Amarillo Mayor Ginger Nelson on Monday said she was pleased.

“Good things are happening in Amarillo,” Nelson said. “I applaud Representative Smithee and all of the Amarillo delegation, as well as Governor Abbott, for giving us this opportunity.”

Tech officials have said the school could bring with it 100 high-paying jobs.

Not all of the items in the budget were inked into existence by Abbott.

Squeezed by the oil price slump, the budget includes funding increases for the state’s beleaguered child welfare system and $800 million for border security.

His vetoes included cutting nearly $900,000 in Secretary of State funding to help Texans living in impoverished “colonias” along the border with Mexico.

Abbott said colonias funding was already included elsewhere in the budget, while the Secretary of State had served “in a liaison and reporting role” on colonia life.

Other cuts were $6-plus million from air quality improvement initiatives and $4.2 million in bonuses that would have been offered to retailers selling high numbers of lottery tickets.

Ron Balaskovitz, Ricky Treon and The Associated Press contributed to this story.